System and method for ID platform

ABSTRACT

A system is provided. The system comprises a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and an application stored in the memory. When executed by the processor, the application receives a plurality of first messages from a first plurality of handsets, each of the first messages indicating that one of the first plurality of handsets has installed a first ID, wherein the first ID is associated with a first ID provider, receives a second message from the first ID provider, the second message indicating that new content associated with the first ID is available, and in response to the second message, transmits a plurality of third messages, each of the third messages directed to one of the first plurality of handsets, indicating that new content associated with the first ID is available.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND

Mobile telephones are electronic devices used for mobile voice or datacommunication based on network connectivity provided by base stationsknown as cell towers or sites. Wallpapers, themes, and branding areinstalled on the mobile phones by the original equipment manufacturersin the firmware delivered on the mobile phones. Mobile phone users areable to customize elements of their device by installing new wallpapersand themes.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, a system is disclosed. The system is comprised of aprocessor, a memory, and an application stored in memory. When executedby the processor, the application receives a plurality of first messagesfrom a first plurality of handsets, each of the first messagesindicating that one of the first plurality of handsets has installed afirst ID. The first ID is associated with a first ID provider. Theapplication may then receive a second message from the first IDprovider, the second message indicating that new content associated witha first ID is available. In response to the second message, theapplication transmits a plurality of third messages. Each of the thirdmessages is directed to one of the first plurality of handsets,indicating that new content associated with the first ID is available.

In an embodiment, a method is disclosed. The method comprises receivinga first message from a first handset, where the first message indicatesthat the first handset has installed a first ID. In response toreceiving the first message, the first handset is associated with afirst ID. A second message may then be received from the first handset,where the second message indicates the first handset has installed asecond ID. In response to receiving the second message, the firsthandset is associated with a second ID. A third message may then bereceived from a second handset, where the third message indicates thatthe second handset has installed the second ID. In response to receivingthe third message, the second handset is associated with the second ID.Associating different handsets with different IDs defines differentcontent partitions. When new content associated with IDs is available,notification is delivered to the first and second handset differentiallybased on the content partitions.

In an embodiment, a portable electronic device is disclosed. The devicecomprises a radio transceiver, a processor, a memory which comprises asystem partition, an ID installer application stored in the systempartition of the memory, and an ID zone application stored in the systempartition of the memory. When executed by the processor, the IDinstaller application may receive a control input to install an ID. Uponreceiving the control input, the ID installer application wirelesslydownloads the ID via the radio transceiver and stores the ID in thememory outside of the system partition. The ID installer applicationperiodically transmits a message wirelessly via the radio transceiveridentifying any IDs stored in the memory. When executed by theprocessor, the ID zone application wirelessly transmits a request toretrieve ID content via the radio transceiver.

These and other features will be more clearly understood from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, referenceis now made to the following brief description, taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings and detailed description, wherein likereference numerals represent like parts.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a mobile device according to an embodimentof the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a mobile device according to an embodimentof the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a software architecture for a mobile deviceaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a computer system according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood at the outset that although illustrativeimplementations of one or more embodiments are illustrated below, thedisclosed systems and methods may be implemented using any number oftechniques, whether currently known or not yet in existence. Thedisclosure should in no way be limited to the illustrativeimplementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated below, but may bemodified within the scope of the appended claims along with their fullscope of equivalents.

A system and method for providing enhanced interaction between aportable electronic device user and an ID provider is described. Theinteraction between the portable electronic device user and the IDprovider is managed by a communications service provider associated withthe portable electronic device. A portable electronic device user mayhave the ability to install IDs. An ID comprises at least one of anapplication, network services, a wallpaper, a media file, a widget, anda screensaver which may be used to provide a custom look andfunctionality to a portable electronic device. Further, an ID comprisesan auto-installation routine or application that automatically managesdownloading the several components of the ID onto the portableelectronic device, thereby saving the user having to go to a pluralityof different locations and download the several components of the ID ina series of distinct transactions. A widget is a small specializedgraphical user interface (GUI) application that provides some visualinformation and easy access to frequently used functions such as clocks,calendars, and news aggregators.

Each ID installed will associate the portable electronic device withtargeted content from an ID provider. The service provider, for examplea server computer executing an ID server application, may manage thisassociation and manage the messaging and content delivery between the IDprovider and the portable electronic device. For example, a user mayinstall an ID for their favorite sports team, a second ID for aprofessional organization, and a third ID for their local schooldistrict. Each ID will download content for display on the device. Theuser may select an ID, and an ID zone application on the portableelectronic device will be executed presenting the content from theselected ID provider. The content may include a customized look and feelto the device as well as information and announcements from the IDprovider. The information may be promotional in nature, such as a couponfor a special ticket package to an upcoming game, or an announcement,such as the school holiday schedule. Some of the information may be timebased. For example, a message may be sent out to the ID on the portableelectronic device by the ID provider via the server computer to providea reminder that a game associated with the favorite sports team isstarting in five minutes.

In addition to the content provided when an ID is installed, the IDprovider will be able to add new content and notify the service providerthat new content is available. The service provider may then sendmessages specifically to portable electronic devices having the IDinstalled. The ID zone application on the portable electronic device mayreceive the messages and present a notification to the user that newcontent is available, drawing the device user into the target ID zoneapplication to immediately access the content. Alternatively, the usermay dismiss the notification, and the content may be presented the nexttime the ID zone application activates the subject ID. The ID content iscontrolled by the ID provider for that ID, with the user having theability to install multiple IDs and switch between IDs to view thecontent from the associated ID provider.

Because the service provider manages the interaction between the deviceuser and the ID provider, they may also control how often ID providersmay send messages. This allows the service provider to control at leastsome aspects of the user experience for their customers to retain valueand prevent overuse. The service provider may assign priority levels tomessages and have ID provider policies applied according to priority andID. For example, priority 1 messages might be reserved for customercare, billing, device performance issues, or emergency announcements andmay be unlimited. Priority 2 may be targeted messages sent only to usersmeeting a specific criteria such as a previous purchase, while priority3 may be broadcast messages sent to all users with an ID installed andmay be limited to 1 or 2 messages a day. In this manner the serviceprovider may ensure that the IDs remain a valuable feature of thedevice. Alternatively, the ID provider may impose message frequencylimitations on itself to preserve the value of their ID among affiliatedusers.

Turning now to FIG. 1, a communication system 10 is described. Thesystem 10 comprises a portable electronic device 12, a base transceiverstation (BTS) 14, a network 16, a server 40, an ID database 60, a userprofile database 70, a first ID provider 80, and a second ID provider90. The portable electronic device 12 may be a mobile phone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a media player, or other communication enabledportable electronic device. The base transceiver station 14 provides acommunication link to the portable electronic device 12 and couples theportable electronic device 12 to the network 16. In an embodiment, thebase transceiver station 14 provides a wireless communication link tothe portable electronic device 12 according to one or more of a codedivision multiple access (CDMA) wireless protocol, a global system formobile communications (GSM) wireless protocol, a long term evolution(LTE) wireless protocol, a worldwide interoperability for microwaveaccess (WiMAX) wireless protocol, or another wireless protocol. While asingle base transceiver station 14 is illustrated in FIG. 1, it isunderstood that the communication system 10 may comprise any number ofbase transceiver stations 14 and any number of portable electronicdevices 12. The network 16 may be a public communication network, aprivate communication network, or a combination thereof.

The portable electronic device 12 may comprise a radio transceiver 20, auser interface 22, and a memory 24. Alternatively, the portableelectronic device 12 may comprise two or more radio transceivers 20. Thememory 24 may store a client ID zone application 26, an ID installerapplication 28, and an eWallet application 30 in the system partition,and a plurality of IDs 32 in the user accessible partition. In anembodiment, when executed by a processor (not shown) of the portableelectronic device 12, the ID installer application 28 may receive acontrol input to install an ID 32 and wirelessly download the ID 32 viathe radio transceiver 20. The ID installer application 28 may store theID 32 in the memory 24 outside of a system partition of the memory 24.Additionally, the ID installer application 28 may periodically transmita message to the server 40 identifying an ID 32 stored in the memory 24.When executed by the processor of the portable electronic device 12, theclient ID zone application 26 may wirelessly transmit a request toserver 40 to retrieve ID content via the radio transceiver 20. Forexample, a user may choose to install an ID 32 for their favoritetelevision show. When the user executes the client ID zone application26 and selects the ID 32 for the television show, a message is sentrequesting the latest content from the ID provider 80, such as thebroadcast times and show synopsis, to be presented to the user.

In an embodiment, the client ID zone application 26 may receive IDcontent and present the ID content in a display of the portableelectronic device 12. The presentation may be based on displayinstructions received with the ID content. The ID provider 80 may sendpresentation information within the content that controls how thecontent is displayed to the user. In an embodiment, the ID content maybe received as an extensible markup language (XML) file. Extensiblemarkup language provides rules for encoding content and providesrepresentation for data structures, allowing the client ID zoneapplication 26 to understand and properly display the content. In anembodiment, the client ID zone application 26 may further receive amessage indicating that new ID content is available. The client ID zoneapplication 26 is a native application installed on the system partitionof the portable electronic device 12 as part of the firmware and may notbe readily uninstalled. The client ID zone application 26 runs in thebackground, allowing it to receive messages about new ID content and topresent the messages in the notification area of the portable electronicdevice 12. The messages in the notification area may be presented withcustom icons specific to the associated ID provider 80 from which themessage was received.

The present disclosure also teaches a server 40 which may comprise aprocessor 42, a memory 44, and a server ID zone application 46 stored inthe memory 44. In an embodiment, when executed by the processor 42, theserver ID zone application 46 may receive a plurality of first messagesfrom a first plurality of portable electronic devices 12. In somecontexts, the portable electronic device 12 may be referred to as ahandset. Each of the first messages indicates that one of the firstplurality of portable electronic devices 12 has installed a first ID 32,where the first ID 32 is associated with a first ID provider 80. Theserver ID zone application 46 may also receive a second message from thefirst ID provider 80, the second message indicating that new contentassociated with a first ID is available. In response to the secondmessage, the server ID zone application 46 may transmit a plurality ofthird messages, each of the third messages directed to the firstplurality of portable electronic devices 12, indicating that new contentassociated with the first ID is available. The server ID zoneapplication 46 is the relay between the ID provider and the portableelectronic devices 12, controlling the communications between theparties. In an embodiment, each of the plurality of third messages istransmitted as an internet protocol (IP) message, where the internetprotocol message may not be associated with any higher layercommunication application, other than the ID zone application 46. Oneskilled in the art would recognize a difference between the ID zoneapplication 46 transmitting internet protocol messages to communicatewith the ID 32 and/or the portable electronic devices 12 and a genericcommunication application that uses internet protocol messages as anunderlying communication layer. The generic communication application,for example electronic mail, provides a variety of services andfunctionality and entails a substantial body of code to support theseservices that are not germane to the ID zone application 46 and wouldunnecessarily bloat the code and function of the ID zone application 46.Prior text messaging systems in mobile communications utilized shortmessage service (SMS). Short message service messages may require ashort message service center to deliver the messages, adding to the costof sending messages. Using internet protocol messages may simplify theprocess and reduce the cost to service providers.

In an embodiment, the server ID zone application 46 further receives afourth message from the first ID provider 80, where the fourth messagecomprises the new content. The new content may be stored by the serverID zone application 46 in the ID database 60, in the partition of the IDdatabase 60 associated with the first ID. The ID database 60 may bepartitioned based on different IDs. A portable electronic device 12 mayinstall multiple IDs 32 and periodically inform the server ID zoneapplication 46 of the IDs 32 that are installed. Alternatively, theportable electronic device 12 may inform the server ID zone application46 on the event of installing and/or activating an ID 32. Alternatively,the portable electronic device 12 may monitor which IDs 32 are installedand over what intervals of time and/or for what durations of time theseveral IDs 32 were active, summarize this information in a report, andsend the report periodically to the server ID zone application 46. Theserver ID zone application 46 may handle the association between one ormore IDs 32, the portable electronic devices 12 on which they areinstalled, and the ID providers 80 and content related to each ID 32.This allows the service provider to prevent the content provider fromseeing their subscribers directly, as well as allowing them to leveragetheir knowledge of their customer to provide additional services. In anembodiment, the server ID zone application 46 may further receive afifth message from one of the first plurality of portable electronicdevices 12 requesting the new content associated with the first ID. Inresponse to the request, the server ID zone application 46 may transmita sixth message to the portable electronic device 12, where the sixthmessage comprises the new content. In an embodiment, the new content maycomprise an extensible markup language file.

In an embodiment, the server ID zone application 46 may further receiveinformation from at least some of the first plurality of portableelectronic devices 12, the information describing a control inputassociated with the first ID received by the portable electronic device12. In an embodiment, the second message received by the server ID zoneapplication 46 from the ID provider 80 may further identify criteria,and the third messages may be transmitted selectively to the portableelectronic devices 12 based on the criteria. This provides a means forthe ID provider 80 to target content to a subset of the portableelectronic device 12 based on the criteria, rather than sending it toall portable electronic devices 12 with the ID 32 installed. Forexample, if the ID provider 80 were a school district they may send anotice of the next school board meeting out to parents' devices (asopposed to students). As further examples, the criteria could be definedto send messages to all the portable electronic devices 12 that have theID 32 installed; to all the portable electronic devices 12 that have theID 32 currently active; to all the portable electronic devices 12 thathave had the ID 32 active a threshold number of times in the past(although they may or may not currently have the ID 32 active); to allthe portable electronic devices 12 that have had the ID 32 active atleast a threshold percentage of time over a predefined time interval(although they may or may not currently have the ID 32 active). Theseare examples, and yet other criteria can be defined for selectivelytransmitting messages to portable electronic device 12 that have the ID32 installed.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a method 100 is described. At block 102 a firstmessage is received from a first portable electronic device 12. Thefirst message indicates that the first portable electronic device 12 hasinstalled a first ID 32. At block 104, in response to receiving thefirst message, the first portable electronic device 12 is associatedwith the first ID, for example by an entry is made in the ID database 60that associates the first portable electronic device 12 with the firstID. This association will allow the server ID zone application 46 to beaware of which content and updates should be sent to the first portableelectronic device 12. At block 106 a second message is received from thefirst portable electronic device 12. The second message indicates thatthe first portable electronic device 12 has installed a second ID 32. Atblock 108, in response to receiving the second message, the firstportable electronic device 12 is associated with a second ID, forexample an entry is made in the ID database 60 that associates the firstportable electronic device 12 with the second ID. Similar to the firstID, the server ID application 46 will now be aware that content andupdates from the second ID should also be sent to the first portableelectronic device 12. At block 110 a third message is received from asecond portable electronic device 12. The third message indicates thatthe second portable electronic device 12 has installed the second ID 32.At block 112, in response to receiving the third message, the secondportable electronic device 12 is associated with the second ID, whereassociating different portable electronic devices 12 with different IDsmay define different content partitions. Each ID may be associated witha different content partition on the service provider database 60 wherethe content is stored. At block 114 notification of new contentassociated with the IDs is delivered to the first and second portableelectronic device 12 differentially based on the content partitions. Asnew content is received for each content partition, notification will bedelivered to the first and second portable electronic device 12associated with the related IDs.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises receiving a fourthmessage from a first ID provider 80, where the first ID provider 80 isassociated with the first ID. The fourth message indicates that newcontent associated with the first ID is available. In response toreceiving the fourth message, a fifth message is transmitted to thefirst portable electronic device 12, indicating that new contentassociated with the first ID is available. A sixth message is receivedfrom a second ID provider 90, where the second ID provider 90 isassociated with the second ID. The sixth message indicates that newcontent associated with the second ID is available. In response toreceiving the sixth message, a seventh message is transmitted to thefirst portable electronic device 12, and an eighth message istransmitted to the second portable electronic device 12. Both theseventh and eighth messages indicate that new content associated withthe second ID is available. Because only the first portable electronicdevice 12 installed the first ID 32, if new content associated with thefirst ID is received, notification of the new content is sent to thefirst portable electronic device 12 only. Both the first and secondportable electronic devices 12 installed the second ID 32, so if newcontent associated with the second ID is received, notification of thenew content will be sent to both the first and second portableelectronic devices 12. In an embodiment, the fifth message, the seventhmessage, and the eighth message are transmitted in internet protocolmessages.

In an embodiment, the method further describes receiving feedback fromthe second portable electronic device 12, where the feedbackcharacterizes interaction of the second portable electronic device 12with the second ID. A ninth message is received from the second IDprovider 90 comprising targeted content associated with the second IDand a criteria. Based on the feedback, it is determined that the secondportable electronic device 12 meets the criteria, and a tenth message isselectively transmitted to the second portable electronic device 12 andnot to the first portable electronic device 12, where the tenth messageindicates that targeted content associated with the second ID isavailable. The ID zone application 26 captures user behavior history andsends feedback to the server 40. This history may comprise informationabout IDs that have been installed on the portable electronic device 12.This history may comprise information about activations of IDs on theportable electronic device 12. The history may comprise user reactionsto ID zone notifications, whether ID zone notifications led topurchases, where the user navigated to ID zone content, and otherstatistics that may be acquired about the usage of the ID zoneapplication 26. In this embodiment, the server 40 may serve as acustomer intelligence platform, collecting the feedback from theplurality of portable electronic devices 12 and abstracting outstatistics about the IDs which may be sold to ID providers 80 to allowtargeting messages and content based on the feedback analysis. Forexample, through an eWallet application 30 on the portable electronicdevice 12, the server 40 will have knowledge that the customer purchaseda ringtone through an offer on the second ID. When a new song by thesame artist comes out, the second ID provider 90 may send a specialoffer only to customers who previously purchased a ringtone by theartist. The server 40 may be able to tie together purchases, previousmessage responses, and promotions to offer a better user experience. Theserver 40 may be able to track user activity on and user activityinitiated through the portable electronic device 12, activity related tothe ID and/or activity using the portable electronic device 12 moregenerally, and to integrate this knowledge into interacting with theportable electronic device 12—for example by sending commercialpromotions, for sending public service information, and other valuableinformation to the portable electronic device 12 and/or to the ID.

In an embodiment, the method 100 further comprises receiving a requestfor new content associated with an ID and transmitting a messagecomprising the new content, where the new content is defined in anextensible markup language file. In an embodiment, the extensible markuplanguage file defines ID content and a presentation style of the IDcontent. In an embodiment, the extensible markup language file isreceived from an ID provider 80. The extensible markup language providesa structure to the data, allowing the ID provider 80 to actively managethe content and presentation of the ID on a regular basis. This enablesthe ID provider 80 to keep the content fresh to keep the customerinterested to keep using the ID 32. The ID provider 80 can use the ID toprovide applications, network services, wallpapers, media files,widgets, and screensavers to the customer to further customize the IDand the portable electronic device 12.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises receiving an eleventhmessage from the second ID provider 90 comprising targeted contentassociated with the second ID and a criteria. Based on a user profileassociated with the second portable electronic device 12, it isdetermined that the second portable electronic device 12 meets thecriteria. Based on a user profile stored in the user profile database 70and associated with the first portable electronic device 12, it isdetermined that the first portable electronic device 12 does not meetthe criteria. A twelfth message is selectively transmitted to the secondportable electronic device 12 and not to the first portable electronicdevice 12, where the twelfth message indicates that targeted contentassociated with the second ID is available. In an embodiment, the userprofile comprises at least one of credit score, age, place of residence,marital status, number of children, educational level, income level,purchase history, personal interest, and political affiliation. Further,the user profile may include information about user interactions withthe portable electronic device 12, with the IDs installed on thehandset, or with components of the IDs. For example, if BMW is an IDprovider, rather than target all portable electronic devices with theirID 32 installed, they may send a notice of a special test driveopportunity for an upcoming luxury car only to college graduates over 40with an annual income greater than $100,000. This allows them to targetthe promotion to the customers most likely to purchase the car.

While the description of above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 maysometimes suggest a separation between the role of the ID providers 80,90 and the role of the service provider, this need not be the case. Inthe case of large enterprises, the large enterprise may develop the ID32 themselves. On the other hand, in the case of small enterprises, theenterprise may lack the resources and/or knowledge to develop an ID 32themselves, and the service provider instead may develop and manage theID 32 on behalf of the subject enterprise. It is understood that thepresent disclosure covers both of these different cases. Thus, an IDprovider is understood to be the entity that provides the subject ID32—whether that is the enterprise itself associated with the ID 32 orwhether that is the service provider or other party acting on behalf ofthe enterprise to provide and manage the subject ID 32.

FIG. 3 shows a wireless communications system including the mobiledevice 200. FIG. 3 depicts the mobile device 200, which is operable forimplementing aspects of the present disclosure, but the presentdisclosure should not be limited to these implementations. Thoughillustrated as a mobile phone, the mobile device 200 may take variousforms including a wireless portable electronic device, a pager, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a gaming device, an inventory controldevice, a media player, a digital camera, a digital calculator, aportable computer, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, and/or other.Many suitable portable electronic devices combine some or all of thesefunctions. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the mobiledevice 200 is not a general purpose computing device like a portable,laptop or tablet computer, but rather is a special-purposecommunications device such as a mobile phone, wireless portableelectronic device, pager, or PDA. The mobile device 200 may supportspecialized activities such as gaming, inventory control, job control,and/or task management functions, and so on.

The mobile device 200 includes a display 402 and a touch-sensitivesurface and/or keys 404 for input by a user. The mobile device 200 maypresent options for the user to select, controls for the user toactuate, and/or cursors or other indicators for the user to direct. Themobile device 200 may further accept data entry from the user, includingnumbers to dial or various parameter values for configuring theoperation of the portable electronic device. The mobile device 200 mayfurther execute one or more software or firmware applications inresponse to user commands. These applications may configure the mobiledevice 200 to perform various customized functions in response to userinteraction. Additionally, the mobile device 200 may be programmedand/or configured over-the-air, for example from a wireless basestation, a wireless access point, or a peer mobile device 200.

The mobile device 200 may execute a web browser application whichenables the display 402 to show a web page. The web page may be obtainedvia wireless communications with a base transceiver station (BTS) 14, awireless network access node, a peer mobile device 200 or any otherwireless communication network or system. While a single basetransceiver station 14 is illustrated, it is understood that thewireless communication system may comprise additional base transceiverstations. In some instances, the mobile device 200 may be incommunication with multiple base transceiver stations 14 at the sametime. The base transceiver station 14 (or wireless network access node)is coupled to a wired network 16, such as the Internet. Via the wirelesslink and the wired network, the mobile device 200 has access toinformation on various servers, such as a server 40. The server 40 mayprovide content that may be shown on the display 402. Alternately, themobile device 200 may access the base transceiver station 14 through apeer mobile device 200 acting as an intermediary, in a relay type or hoptype of connection.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the mobile device 200. While a varietyof known components of portable electronic devices 200 are depicted, inan embodiment a subset of the listed components and/or additionalcomponents not listed may be included in the mobile device 200. Themobile device 200 includes a digital signal processor (DSP) 502 and amemory 504. As shown, the mobile device 200 may further include anantenna and front end unit 506, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver 508,an analog baseband processing unit 510, a microphone 512, an earpiecespeaker 514, a headset port 516, an input/output interface 518, aremovable memory card 520, a universal serial bus (USB) port 522, aninfrared port 524, a vibrator 526, a keypad 528, a touch screen liquidcrystal display (LCD) with a touch sensitive surface 530, a touchscreen/LCD controller 532, a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera 534, acamera controller 536, and a global positioning system (GPS) sensor 538.In an embodiment, the mobile device 200 may include another kind ofdisplay that does not provide a touch sensitive screen. In anembodiment, the DSP 502 may communicate directly with the memory 504without passing through the input/output interface 518.

The DSP 502 or some other form of controller or central processing unitoperates to control the various components of the mobile device 200 inaccordance with embedded software or firmware stored in memory 504 orstored in memory contained within the DSP 502 itself. In addition to theembedded software or firmware, the DSP 502 may execute otherapplications stored in the memory 504 or made available via informationcarrier media such as portable data storage media like the removablememory card 520 or via wired or wireless network communications. Theapplication software may comprise a compiled set of machine-readableinstructions that configure the DSP 502 to provide the desiredfunctionality, or the application software may be high-level softwareinstructions to be processed by an interpreter or compiler to indirectlyconfigure the DSP 502.

The antenna and front end unit 506 may be provided to convert betweenwireless signals and electrical signals, enabling the mobile device 200to send and receive information from a radio access network (RAN) orsome other available wireless communications network or from a peermobile device 200. In an embodiment, the antenna and front end unit 506may include multiple antennas to support beam forming and/or multipleinput multiple output (MIMO) operations. As is known to those skilled inthe art, MIMO operations may provide spatial diversity which can be usedto overcome difficult channel conditions and/or increase channelthroughput. The antenna and front end unit 506 may include antennatuning and/or impedance matching components, RF power amplifiers, and/orlow noise amplifiers.

The RF transceiver 508 provides frequency shifting, converting receivedRF signals to baseband and converting baseband transmit signals to RF.In some descriptions a radio transceiver or RF transceiver may beunderstood to include other signal processing functionality such asmodulation/demodulation, coding/decoding, interleaving/deinterleaving,spreading/despreading, inverse fast Fourier transforming (IFFT)/fastFourier transforming (FFT), cyclic prefix appending/removal, and othersignal processing functions. For the purposes of clarity, thedescription here separates the description of this signal processingfrom the RF and/or radio stage and conceptually allocates that signalprocessing to the analog baseband processing unit 510 and/or the DSP 502or other central processing unit. In some embodiments, the RFtransceiver 508, portions of the antenna and front end 506, and theanalog baseband processing unit 510 may be combined in one or moreprocessing units and/or application specific integrated circuits(ASICs).

The analog baseband processing unit 510 may provide various analogprocessing of inputs and outputs, for example analog processing ofinputs from the microphone 512 and the headset port 516 and outputs tothe earpiece speaker 514 and the headset port 516. To that end, theanalog baseband processing unit 510 may have ports for connecting to thebuilt-in microphone 512 and the earpiece speaker 514 that enable themobile device 200 to be used as a mobile phone. The analog basebandprocessing unit 510 may further include a port for connecting to aheadset or other hands-free microphone and speaker configuration. Theanalog baseband processing unit 510 may provide digital-to-analogconversion in one signal direction and analog-to-digital conversion inthe opposing signal direction. In some embodiments, at least some of thefunctionality of the analog baseband processing unit 510 may be providedby digital processing components, for example by the DSP 502 or by othercentral processing units.

The DSP 502 may perform modulation/demodulation, coding/decoding,interleaving/deinterleaving, spreading/despreading, inverse fast Fouriertransforming (IFFT)/fast Fourier transforming (FFT), cyclic prefixappending/removal, and other signal processing functions associated withwireless communications. In an embodiment, for example in a codedivision multiple access (CDMA) technology application, for atransmitter function the DSP 502 may perform modulation, coding,interleaving, and spreading, and for a receiver function the DSP 502 mayperform despreading, deinterleaving, decoding, and demodulation. Inanother embodiment, for example in an orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplex access (OFDMA) technology application, for the transmitterfunction the DSP 502 may perform modulation, coding, interleaving,inverse fast Fourier transforming, and cyclic prefix appending, and fora receiver function the DSP 502 may perform cyclic prefix removal, fastFourier transforming, deinterleaving, decoding, and demodulation. Inother wireless technology applications, yet other signal processingfunctions and combinations of signal processing functions may beperformed by the DSP 502.

The DSP 502 may communicate with a wireless network via the analogbaseband processing unit 510. In some embodiments, the communication mayprovide Internet connectivity, enabling a user to gain access to contenton the Internet and to send and receive e-mail or text messages. Theinput/output interface 518 interconnects the DSP 502 and variousmemories and interfaces. The memory 504 and the removable memory card520 may provide software and data to configure the operation of the DSP502. Among the interfaces may be the USB port 522 and the infrared port524. The USB port 522 may enable the mobile device 200 to function as aperipheral device to exchange information with a personal computer orother computer system. The infrared port 524 and other optional portssuch as a Bluetooth interface or an IEEE 802.11 compliant wirelessinterface may enable the mobile device 200 to communicate wirelesslywith other nearby portable electronic devices and/or wireless basestations.

The input/output interface 518 may further connect the DSP 502 to thevibrator 526 that, when triggered, causes the mobile device 200 tovibrate. The vibrator 526 may serve as a mechanism for silently alertingthe user to any of various events such as an incoming call, a new textmessage, and an appointment reminder.

The keypad 528 couples to the DSP 502 via the interface 518 to provideone mechanism for the user to make selections, enter information, andotherwise provide input to the mobile device 200. Another inputmechanism may be the touch screen LCD 530, which may also display textand/or graphics to the user. The touch screen LCD controller 532 couplesthe DSP 502 to the touch screen LCD 530.

The CCD camera 534 enables the mobile device 200 to take digitalpictures. The DSP 502 communicates with the CCD camera 534 via thecamera controller 536. The GPS sensor 538 is coupled to the DSP 502 todecode global positioning system signals, thereby enabling the mobiledevice 200 to determine its position. In another embodiment, a cameraoperating according to a technology other than charge coupled devicecameras may be employed. Various other peripherals may also be includedto provide additional functions, e.g., radio and television reception.

FIG. 5 illustrates a software environment 602 that may be implemented bythe DSP 502. The DSP 502 executes operating system software 604 thatprovides a platform from which the rest of the software operates. Theoperating system software 604 may provide a variety of drivers for theportable electronic device hardware with standardized interfaces thatare accessible to application software. The operating system software604 may be coupled to and interact with application management services(“AMS”) 606 that transfer control between applications running on themobile device 200. Also shown in FIG. 5 are a web browser application608, a media player application 610, and JAVA applets 612. The webbrowser application 608 configures the mobile device 200 to operate as aweb browser, allowing a user to enter information into forms and selectlinks to retrieve and view web pages. The media player application 610configures the mobile device 200 to retrieve and play audio oraudiovisual media. The JAVA applets 612 configure the mobile device 200to provide games, utilities, and other functionality.

FIG. 6 illustrates a computer system 380 suitable for implementing oneor more embodiments disclosed herein. The computer system 380 includes aprocessor 382 (which may be referred to as a central processor unit orCPU) that is in communication with memory devices including secondarystorage 384, read only memory (ROM) 386, random access memory (RAM) 388,input/output (I/O) devices 390, and network connectivity devices 392.The processor 382 may be implemented as one or more CPU chips.

It is understood that by programming and/or loading executableinstructions onto the computer system 380, at least one of the CPU 382,the RAM 388, and the ROM 386 are changed, transforming the computersystem 380 in part into a particular machine or apparatus having thenovel functionality taught by the present disclosure. It is fundamentalto the electrical engineering and software engineering arts thatfunctionality that can be implemented by loading executable softwareinto a computer can be converted to a hardware implementation by wellknown design rules. Decisions between implementing a concept in softwareversus hardware typically hinge on considerations of stability of thedesign and numbers of units to be produced rather than any issuesinvolved in translating from the software domain to the hardware domain.Generally, a design that is still subject to frequent change may bepreferred to be implemented in software, because re-spinning a hardwareimplementation is more expensive than re-spinning a software design.Generally, a design that is stable that will be produced in large volumemay be preferred to be implemented in hardware, for example in anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), because for largeproduction runs the hardware implementation may be less expensive thanthe software implementation. Often a design may be developed and testedin a software form and later transformed, by well known design rules, toan equivalent hardware implementation in an application specificintegrated circuit that hardwires the instructions of the software. Inthe same manner as a machine controlled by a new ASIC is a particularmachine or apparatus, likewise a computer that has been programmedand/or loaded with executable instructions may be viewed as a particularmachine or apparatus.

The secondary storage 384 is typically comprised of one or more diskdrives or tape drives and is used for non-volatile storage of data andas an over-flow data storage device if RAM 388 is not large enough tohold all working data. Secondary storage 384 may be used to storeprograms which are loaded into RAM 388 when such programs are selectedfor execution. The ROM 386 is used to store instructions and perhapsdata which are read during program execution. ROM 386 is a non-volatilememory device which typically has a small memory capacity relative tothe larger memory capacity of secondary storage 384. The RAM 388 is usedto store volatile data and perhaps to store instructions. Access to bothROM 386 and RAM 388 is typically faster than to secondary storage 384.The secondary storage 384, the RAM 388, and/or the ROM 386 may bereferred to in some contexts as non-transitory storage and/ornon-transitory computer readable media.

I/O devices 390 may include printers, video monitors, liquid crystaldisplays (LCDs), touch screen displays, keyboards, keypads, switches,dials, mice, track balls, voice recognizers, card readers, paper tapereaders, or other well-known input devices.

The network connectivity devices 392 may take the form of modems, modembanks, Ethernet cards, universal serial bus (USB) interface cards,serial interfaces, token ring cards, fiber distributed data interface(FDDI) cards, wireless local area network (WLAN) cards, radiotransceiver cards such as code division multiple access (CDMA), globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM), long-term evolution (LTE),worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), and/or otherair interface protocol radio transceiver cards, and other well-knownnetwork devices. These network connectivity devices 392 may enable theprocessor 382 to communicate with the Internet or one or more intranets.With such a network connection, it is contemplated that the processor382 might receive information from the network, or might outputinformation to the network in the course of performing theabove-described method steps. Such information, which is oftenrepresented as a sequence of instructions to be executed using processor382, may be received from and outputted to the network, for example, inthe form of a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave.

Such information, which may include data or instructions to be executedusing processor 382 for example, may be received from and outputted tothe network, for example, in the form of a computer data baseband signalor signal embodied in a carrier wave. The baseband signal or signalembodied in the carrier wave generated by the network connectivitydevices 392 may propagate in or on the surface of electrical conductors,in coaxial cables, in waveguides, in an optical conduit, for example anoptical fiber, or in the air or free space. The information contained inthe baseband signal or signal embedded in the carrier wave may beordered according to different sequences, as may be desirable for eitherprocessing or generating the information or transmitting or receivingthe information. The baseband signal or signal embedded in the carrierwave, or other types of signals currently used or hereafter developed,may be generated according to several methods well known to one skilledin the art. The baseband signal and/or signal embedded in the carrierwave may be referred to in some contexts as a transitory signal.

The processor 382 executes instructions, codes, computer programs,scripts which it accesses from hard disk, floppy disk, optical disk(these various disk based systems may all be considered secondarystorage 384), ROM 386, RAM 388, or the network connectivity devices 392.While only one processor 382 is shown, multiple processors may bepresent. Thus, while instructions may be discussed as executed by aprocessor, the instructions may be executed simultaneously, serially, orotherwise executed by one or multiple processors. Instructions, codes,computer programs, scripts, and/or data that may be accessed from thesecondary storage 384, for example, hard drives, floppy disks, opticaldisks, and/or other device, the ROM 386, and/or the RAM 388 may bereferred to in some contexts as non-transitory instructions and/ornon-transitory information.

In an embodiment, the computer system 380 may comprise two or morecomputers in communication with each other that collaborate to perform atask. For example, but not by way of limitation, an application may bepartitioned in such a way as to permit concurrent and/or parallelprocessing of the instructions of the application. Alternatively, thedata processed by the application may be partitioned in such a way as topermit concurrent and/or parallel processing of different portions of adata set by the two or more computers. In an embodiment, virtualizationsoftware may be employed by the computer system 380 to provide thefunctionality of a number of servers that is not directly bound to thenumber of computers in the computer system 380. For example,virtualization software may provide twenty virtual servers on fourphysical computers. In an embodiment, the functionality disclosed abovemay be provided by executing the application and/or applications in acloud computing environment. Cloud computing may comprise providingcomputing services via a network connection using dynamically scalablecomputing resources. Cloud computing may be supported, at least in part,by virtualization software. A cloud computing environment may beestablished by an enterprise and/or may be hired on an as-needed basisfrom a third party provider. Some cloud computing environments maycomprise cloud computing resources owned and operated by the enterpriseas well as cloud computing resources hired and/or leased from a thirdparty provider.

In an embodiment, some or all of the functionality disclosed above maybe provided as a computer program product. The computer program productmay comprise one or more computer readable storage medium havingcomputer usable program code embodied therein implementing thefunctionality disclosed above. The computer program product may comprisedata, data structures, files, executable instructions, and otherinformation. The computer program product may be embodied in removablecomputer storage media and/or non-removable computer storage media. Theremovable computer readable storage medium may comprise, withoutlimitation, a paper tape, a magnetic tape, magnetic disk, an opticaldisk, a solid state memory chip, for example analog magnetic tape,compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM) disks, floppy disks, jump drives,digital cards, multimedia cards, and others. The computer programproduct may be suitable for loading, by the computer system 380, atleast portions of the contents of the computer program product to thesecondary storage 384, to the ROM 386, to the RAM 388, and/or to othernon-volatile memory and volatile memory of the computer system 380. Theprocessor 382 may process the executable instructions and/or data inpart by directly accessing the computer program product, for example byreading from a CD-ROM disk inserted into a disk drive peripheral of thecomputer system 380. The computer program product may compriseinstructions that promote the loading and/or copying of data, datastructures, files, and/or executable instructions to the secondarystorage 384, to the ROM 386, to the RAM 388, and/or to othernon-volatile memory and volatile memory of the computer system 380.

While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure,it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods may beembodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spiritor scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intention is notto be limited to the details given herein. For example, the variouselements or components may be combined or integrated in another systemor certain features may be omitted or not implemented.

Also, techniques, systems, subsystems, and methods described andillustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may becombined or integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, ormethods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.Other items shown or discussed as directly coupled or communicating witheach other may be indirectly coupled or communicating through someinterface, device, or intermediate component, whether electrically,mechanically, or otherwise. Other examples of changes, substitutions,and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in the art and could bemade without departing from the spirit and scope disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for managing interaction between ahandset and an ID provider, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled tothe processor; and an application stored in the memory that, whenexecuted by the processor, receives a plurality of installation messagesfrom a plurality of handsets, the installation messages indicating thatthe plurality of handsets have installed an ID, wherein the ID comprisesan auto-installation routine and a plurality of a graphical userinterface application, another application, and a media file, andwherein the ID is associated with an ID provider; receives an indicationmessage from the ID provider, the indication message indicating that newcontent associated with the ID is available; in response to theindication message, transmits a plurality of availability messages tothe plurality of handsets based on the plurality of installationmessages, each of the availability messages directed to one of theplurality of handsets and indicating that new content associated withthe ID is available; in response to receiving an installation message ofthe plurality of installation messages from a handset of the pluralityof handsets, associates the handset with the ID; receives anotherinstallation message from the handset, wherein the other installationmessage indicates that the handset has installed another ID; in responseto receiving the other installation message, associates the handset withthe other ID; receives an additional installation message from anotherhandset of the plurality of handsets, wherein the additionalinstallation message indicates that the other handset has installed theother ID; in response to receiving the additional installation message,associates the other handset with the other ID, wherein associatingdifferent handsets with different IDs defines different contentpartitions; and delivers notification of new content associated with IDsto the handset and the other handset differently based on the contentpartitions.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the each of the pluralityof availability messages is transmitted as an internet protocol (IP)message.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the application furtherreceives a new content message from the ID provider, wherein the newcontent message comprises the new content.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the application further receives a content request message fromthe handset requesting the new content associated with the ID andtransmits a content response message to the handset, wherein the contentresponse message comprises the new content.
 5. The system of claim 4,wherein the new content comprises an extensible markup language (XML)file.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the application further receivesinformation from at least some of the plurality of handsets, theinformation describing a control input associated with the ID receivedby the at least some of the plurality of handsets.
 7. The system ofclaim 6, wherein the indication message further identifies a criteria,and wherein the availability messages are transmitted selectively tohandsets based on the criteria.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein theapplication, when executed by the processor, further: receives anotherindication message from another ID provider associated with the otherID, wherein the other indication message indicates that new contentassociated with the other ID is available; and in response to receivingthe other indication message, transmits another availability message tothe handset and an additional availability message to the other handset,and wherein both the other availability message and the additionalavailability message indicate that new content associated with the otherID is available.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the application, whenexecuted by the processor, further assigns a priority level to the newcontent associated with the ID; and assigns another priority level tothe new content associated with the other ID.
 10. The system of claim 8,wherein the other availability message and the additional availabilitymessage are transmitted in internet protocol (IP) messages.
 11. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the application, when executed by theprocessor, further: receives another content request message from theother handset requesting the new content associated with the other ID,and transmits another content response message to the other handset,wherein the other content response message comprises the new contentassociated with the other ID, and wherein the new content associatedwith the other ID is defined in an extensible markup language file. 12.The system of claim 11, wherein the extensible markup language filedefines the new content associated with the other ID and a presentationstyle of the new content associated with the other ID.
 13. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the system is further configured to receive theextensible markup language file from the other ID provider.
 14. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the application, when executed on theprocessor, further: receives a targeted content message from the otherID provider comprising targeted content associated with the other ID anda criteria; determines that the other handset meets the criteria, basedon a user profile associated with the other handset; determines that thehandset does meet the criteria, based on a user profile associated withthe handset; and transmits a targeted content message selectively to theother handset and not to the handset, wherein the targeted contentmessage indicates that targeted content associated with the other ID isavailable.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein at least one of the userprofile associated with the handset and the user profile associated withthe other handset comprises at least one of credit score, age, place ofresidence, marital status, number of children, educational level, incomelevel, purchase history, and political affiliation.
 16. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the application, when executed by the processor,further: receives feedback from the other handset, wherein the feedbackcharacterizes interaction of the other handset with the other ID;receives a targeted content message from the other ID providercomprising targeted content associated with the other ID and a criteria;determines that the other handset meets the criteria, based on thefeedback; and transmits a targeted message selectively to the otherhandset and not to the handset, wherein the targeted message indicatesthat targeted content associated with the other ID is available.
 17. Asystem for managing interaction between a handset and an ID provider,comprising: a server, comprising: a server processor; a server memorycoupled to the server processor; and a server application stored in theserver memory that, when executed by the server processor, receives aplurality of installation messages from a plurality of handsets, theinstallation messages indicating that the plurality of handsets haveinstalled an ID, wherein the ID comprises an auto-installation routineand a plurality of a graphical user interface application, anotherapplication, and a media file, and wherein the ID is associated with anID provider; receives an indication message from the ID provider, theindication message indicating that new content associated with the ID isavailable; and in response to the indication message, transmits aplurality of availability messages to the plurality of handsets based onthe plurality of installation messages, each of the availabilitymessages directed to one of the plurality of handsets and indicatingthat new content associated with the ID is available; and a handset ofthe plurality of handsets, comprising: a radio transceiver; a handsetprocessor; a handset memory, wherein the handset memory comprises asystem partition; an ID installer application stored in the systempartition of the handset memory that, when executed by the handsetprocessor: receives a control input to install the ID; wirelesslydownloads the ID via the radio transceiver; stores the ID in the handsetmemory outside of the system partition; and periodically wirelesslytransmits a message via the radio transceiver, wherein the messageidentifies any IDs stored in the handset memory; and an ID zoneapplication stored in the system partition of the handset memory that,when executed by the handset processor, wirelessly transmits a requestto retrieve promotional content via the radio transceiver; wherein theID zone application stores a history of a plurality of ID installations;stores a history of activation of the plurality of ID installations; andwirelessly transmits the history of installations and history ofactivations of the plurality of ID installations.
 18. The system ofclaim 17, wherein the ID zone application receives ID content andpresents the ID content in a display of the handset based on displayinstructions received with the ID content.
 19. The system of claim 17,wherein the ID content is received as an extensible markup languagefile.
 20. The system of claim 17, wherein the server application, whenexecuted by the server processor, further assigns a priority level tothe new content associated with the ID.